The Colorado secretary of state’s office first learned about the possibility of fraudulent signatures — including a dead voter — on U.S. Senate candidate Jon Keyser’s petitions in April but did not refer the matter to investigators. The revelation adds a new layer of culpability to the controversy surrounding the Republican primary and raises additional questions about how Keyser qualified for the ballot. The missed opportunity was revealed by Secretary of State Wayne Williams, who said in a statement that he didn’t know his staff was warned about the questionable signatures until Tuesday.
The suspect signatures that appeared on Keyser’s petitions included one dead person and an unknown number that appeared to have been written in identical handwriting — potentially more than previously known.
A data specialist at Integrated Document Solutions — the state division that first reviews the petitions — contacted Jeff Mustin, the secretary of state’s petition lead, on April 12, and sent a subsequent e-mail that included the suspicious signatures, according to documents reviewed by The Denver Post.
The secretary of state’s office rejected the deceased voter’s signature but could not confirm the other questionable signatures were forged and many were accepted, according to the documents.
Full Article: Election officials knew of possible forged signatures on Keyser petition for a month – The Denver Post.